About the Book:
Indie Reynolds has given up on romance, and perfected the art of cool, calm and uninterested. When a casual family curse means that everyone you fall in love with turns into a literal monster, shutting down that part of your brain becomes kind of a necessity.
That’s why Indie makes sure that any relationship she has stays positively un-serious. And it’s why she can’t risk falling for her new colleague Max, even if he does have endless charm and a perfect jawline.
But when sparks start flying between them, Indie realises that feelings don’t always do what they’re told. Can she find a way to break her curse and finally let someone get close to her, or is her love life doomed for ever?
Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
Molly Morris is an author of YA fiction and lover of all things weird. She adores everything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, candy and crafts. After three very strange years at a California Baskin Robbins, she does not like ice cream. Molly is a recipient of a Prose MA from the University of East Anglia, and currently resides in the UK with her husband, daughter and their cat, Lemon. THIS IS NOT THE END is her debut novel.
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
Girl is cursed so her love interests turn into monsters. (Whew, that’s tricky!)
What inspired the curse inflicting Indie and her mum?
I love playing with tropes and turning them into realities with magical twists, so here I wanted to play with that tendency we have to, when something’s repeatedly going wrong in an area of our lives, wonder if we’re cursed. How many times have we had love situations go wrong and then wonder if we’re cursed? I wondered what that would look like literally, if Indie and her mum really were cursed and that’s why their love lives are a mess. The monster element came from me knowing I wanted to talk in this book about toxic relationships, so the idea for the curse turning people into literal toxic entities just kind of wrote itself!
The premise lets the book highlight how sometimes men can feel entitled to love. Why do you think romances are such good vehicles for discussions of complex and difficult topics?
Hmmm, this is a really good question. I think for me, it’s because romances require vulnerability. And when you’re vulnerable with someone, that can open doors to a lot of really poignant discussions (and mishaps). On top of that, romances are also really emotionally charged (especially in YA), so they can really emphasize the wider struggles a character is going through, or the conversations they need to have.
How did you choose the animals people turned into?
It was a mixture of things – one, I tried to match to the character’s personality; another, I had an image of this monster before I even started writing this book and so he kind of wrote himself; and another, I just thought it would be really funny and would leave room for some silly lines. A lot of my writing is me just giggling to myself.
Indie has an idea of who Max must be because of his dad, but learns that there’s more to him than meets the eye. Why do you think this is such a popular concept in romances?
Because it’s so true! The people we want to see before we get to know someone are often so different from who they really are. I love that, the idea that people can surprise us just by being themselves. I think it’s one of life’s natural mysteries, so it’s really fun to explore in stories.
What was your favourite moment to write between Indie and Max?
Oh, there are so many! This is the first time in any of my books where I’ve written a love story between two characters that meet within the book, so I had so much fun introducing them to each other and watching their flirtations grow. But I think the moment where they go to the big party toward the end (trying not to spoil this here!) is my favourite. It’s sweet and silly and cute and then obviously goes off the rails.
As well as trying to crack the curse, Indie is struggling to juggle her relationship with her best friend, Sam, as their interests and priorities have shifted with time. Why did you want to write about a friendship in trouble alongside the romance?
It was so important to me to have Indie’s friendship with Sam shine through in this book. Even though the vast majority of this book is devoted to Indie and her many love interests, it’s Sam who’s always there for her no matter what – in a way, you could say she’s Indie’s one constant (platonic) love. Even though their friendship struggles throughout this book as their priorities shift, they always come back to each other and work it out, because they mean so much to each other. They’re true friends.
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.
A SONG I WROTE FOR CHARLOTTE* by Caitlin Devlin. I recently read A SONG I WROTE FOR CHARLOTTE and was totally blown away by it. The main character is written in such a gorgeous and poignant way – her story was funny and sweet and moving and heartbreaking. It’s the perfect illustration of the fresher experience told from a grumpy (and loveable) perspective. I absolutely devoured it.
Thank you, Molly!
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